Sampla addresses BJP rally in Badal bastion

Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Vijay Sampla on Sunday addressed a rally of party workers at Mohlan village of Lambi, home constituency of Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, without even mentioning its state alliance partner, the Shiromani Akali Dal.

punjabUpdated: Jan 12, 2015 13:27 IST

Kamaldeep Singh Brar Hindustan Times

Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Vijay Sampla on Sunday addressed a rally of party workers at Mohlan village of Lambi, home constituency of Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, without even mentioning its state alliance partner, the Shiromani Akali Dal.

It was the first independent rally by the BJP not only here but in the entire state. No party leader talked about the SAD-BJP alliance. The rally was organised in the ‘area’ of SAD district president Deyal Singh Kolianwali, a close confidant of the chief minister.

Addressing the gathering that largely consisted of Dalits, Sampla praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sampla called himself a Dalit labourer and the BJP the “only party” where such humble beginnings could make one a leader.

Sampla listed the achievements of the Modi government. However, he did not touch upon the promises made by the SAD-BJP alliance before the Lok Sabha elections.

Sampla claimed that the morale of the soldiers on the borders is high and they were feeling the arrival of “achhe din”.

Listing achievements of the Modi government, he said, “Earlier, small nations such as Myanmar, Bhutan and Sri Lanka used to threaten us. Pakistan was so daring that they took away the heads of our soldiers with them but the Congress-led UPA government kept silent. But, now, soldiers of the army and the BSF are excited. Their morale is high.”

Asked if Modi had that effect on soldiers, why had the SAD staged dharnas on the border, Sampla said the SAD had categorically said that the dharnas were not against the BSF.

He also addressed another rally in Muktsar constituency.

Speaking on the occasion, most leaders, including former MP Gursharan Kaur Panjgrain and BJP Yuva Morcha state president Mohit Gupta, claimed that drugs had been flowing in Punjab. They also talked about the BJP’s programme to curb drugs in the state, including Amit Shaw’s rally.

However, health minister Surjit Kumar Jyani adopted the SAD’s line, saying it was an attempt to defame Punjab. “The situation in Punjab is serious but not that bad. There is a conspiracy to defame Punjab,” Jyani said while claiming that the Punjab government had started drug de-addiction centres in the state.

Jyani also asked Sampla to convey to Modi to make a Kisan Niti for farmers soon. “If we put money in farmers’ pockets, it would go to the market. If we put the same money in industrialists’ pockets, it would go to the Swiss banks,” Jyani said.